Captain America- The Winter Soldier: Marvel Studios' latest superhero sequel, and definitely it's best

Last night, I got the chance to see the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Captain America, The Winter Soldier:
After the events of The Avengers, Captain America and Black Widow have been doing special ops missions for Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. They've been building a friendship, and Cap has been trying to get reacquainted with the world, considering he's missed over 70 years of history and pop culture. He's also become friends with an ex-soldier named Sam Wilson. Unfortunately, Cap soon finds out that S.H.I.E.L.D. may have been compromised, and that he can trust no one, not even Nick Fury or Black Widow. He also finds himself a fugitive on the run from corrupt politician Alexander Pierce and many S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. All the while, Cap must face his past when a mysterious figure known only as "The Winter Soldier" (who bears a striking resemblance to someone from his WWII days) attempts to assassinate him and his colleagues on several occasions. Cap and Black Widow must hide out from S.H.I.E.L.D. and unravel the mystery of who's behind this government conspiracy, and, even more interesting, who is this Winter Soldier? This movie was surprisingly good. After the satisfying but also somewhat lackluster Iron Man sequels and the disappointing Thor: The Dark World, I was curious how they were going to follow up to the first Captain America, which I initially was indifferent towards but have grown to like over the last three years. Somehow they did it. In my opinion this is the best sequel in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and my favorite of the "Phase Two" films so far. It's the best of them besides Iron Man and The Avengers. It's more of an espionage thriller with some superheroes thrown in the mix, a sort of Jason Bourne and Skyfall meet Marvel. The cast were excellent. Chris Evans continues to show he is the ideal person to play Captain America. He's humorous, heroic, charming, quick-witted, and all around bad-ass, and he has that aura of an action hero from an old movie that you kind of need for Captain America (which is kind of obvious considering he's a hero from days gone by). Scarlett Johansson is always great as Natasha Romanoff, aka the Black Widow. She honestly made the movie ten times better, not just for her looks (but those definitely helped, too) but because she has a really great personality and wit in this movie. She and Evans have excellent on-screen chemistry, despite that she's kind of a tease, as she leads him on while also telling him to date other women. On another note, I liked how the filmmakers didn't go with the route from the comics, where she turns out to be a secret HYDRA operative, because I felt that would have been a bit dumb considering how this film universe has been set up. Anthony Mackie was fantastic as Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon. Although you could say he's just a rehash of Rhodes from Iron Man (i.e. the hero's cool black friend/sidekick), I thought he was a great addition to the series and he and Evans genuinely seemed like good buddies on screen. Sebastian Stan reprises his role as Bucky Barnes, Cap's best friend from his WWII days, now long dead. He appears in flashbacks and archive footage (the latter of which is shown in the fictitious Captain American exhibit in the Smithsonian). Cobie Smulders reappears as Maria Hill, Fury's right-hand woman and a dedicated S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Emily VanCamp appears in a supporting role as Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13, another tough female S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who is assigned to look out for Captain America. Frank Grillo portrays Brock Rumlow (known as Crossbones in the comics), a member of Captain America's elite team of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives. He's a pretty bad-ass character, actually, whether or not you agree with his decisions is a completely different story. Hayley Atwell reprises her role as Cap's former lover interest and British secret agent Peggy Carter, now an elderly woman. It was nice to see their relationship have closure. Veteran actor and director Robert Redford portrays the film's main antagonist: Alexander Pierce. A supporting character in the comics who is loyal to Nick Fury, in the film he is portrayed as a corrupt politician working withing S.H.I.E.L.D. who betrays Cap and Black Widow and brands them as fugitives. He's one of the few Marvel Cinematic Universe bad guys (besides The Mandarin, Loki, and Obidiah Stane) who wasn't all that disappointing and was actually a real threat. He's not the first character to be completely changed for the Cinematic Universe, but I think he's the first major villain to be based on a completely non-villainous character. Of course, you can't deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. without dealing with it's director. Samuel L. Jackson returns in full-force as the bad-ass, one-eyed, stern, and secretive Nick Fury. He's honestly one of the best supporting characters in the series, and he never ceases to be cool. Eagle-eyes may spot a cool easter egg: near the end of the film, something belonging to Fury has a quote from the Bible on it (Ezekiel 25:17), the very same he quote he famously recites in Pulp Fiction (which is 20 years old this year). Toby Jones reappears as Arnim Zola, Red Skull's Swiss scientist partner, who is closer to his comic book counterpart this time around. Maximiliano Hernandez appears as Jasper Sitwell, a higher-up in S.H.I.E.L.D. Having appeared in numerous Marvel "One-Shots" and in The Avengers, he should be a familiar character with many fans by now. Garry Shandling reprises his minor role as smug politician Senator Stern from Iron Man 2. Georges St. Pierre appears as Georges Betroc, a French mercenary and skilled martial artist who has an intense fight with Captain America in the film's opening action sequence. He is based on the classic Captain America villain Batroc the Leaper. Callan Mulvey appears as Jack Rollins, one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best counter-terrorism strike force operatives and Rumlow's colleague. The World Security Council are portrayed by Bernard White, Chin Han (The Dark Knight), Alan Dale, and Jenny Agutter, who is the only one to also appear as a council member in The Avengers. Gary Sinise has a voice-over cameo as the narrator of the Smithsonian's Cap exhibit, and Stan Lee cameos as a museum security guard. Ed Brubaker, the creator of the Winter Soldier, cameos as an evil scientist working with the assassin. Joe Russo (one of the directors) appears as a doctor, and the writers cameo as interrogators. This movie is actually one of my favorite films of the year so far. It feels fresh and new for a Marvel film, and is tied in directly with The Avengers: Age of Ultron, but doesn't feel forced, like in the way Iron Man 2 shoved the upcoming Avengers down the viewer's throat. It has enough superhero action and sci-fi tech to keep fans of the series and comics happy, but also enough intriguing spy fare and twists to keep general audiences entertained. The music by Henry Jackman may be very similar to the score of The Avengers, but it does a good job getting you excited during an action sequence or just before a huge action set-piece. Speaking of which, the action and fight sequences are stunning and exhilarating. The mind-blowing special effects blend in seamlessly, too. From the opening sequence on a shipping freighter, to the well-choreographed one-on-one fight between Cap and Batroc, to the car chase between Nick Fury and some corrupt cops/S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, to the close-quarters fight between Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in an elevator and his subsequent escape, to the gun battle between the Winter Solider and Cap & Black Widow, to the final battle sequence aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarriers and inside The Triskelion (S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ), every one of the these sequences is entertaining and explosive, with tons of intense hand-to-hand combat and fire-fights. Joe and Anthony Russo are mostly known for their work on comedy series such as Arrested Development and Happy Endings, so I was surprised they could pull off a violent and fast-paced superhero film so well. The writers (Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus) do a great job adapting the material to the big screen, and putting their own original twist on it. I also felt they got the tone right. As much as I love The Avengers (and don't get me wrong, I really fucking love it), you do get the sense it's too light-hearted at times, example: putting jokes in inappropriate places (like having a character say a funny line moments after Agent Coulson is stabbed by Loki), this one was closer to the original Iron Man (and the intended tone of the series before Disney took over): has humor and fun flashy visuals, but knows too much will drown out the more serious parts. It also realizes that when shit gets real, you can't put jokes in immediately afterwards, you have to let the seriousness of the situations at hand sink in, or else you'll be accused of not taking the material seriously yourself. Captain America: The Winter Soldier just got it right. It's got a great cast, a surprisingly intriguing plot, a darker tone, more mind-blowing action set-pieces, a decent musical score, and some excellent writing for an action film. The only problems: a few logical flaws (which are common in action films), but mainly it's the release date. Why early April and not May like usual? What the fuck, Marvel Studios? That's almost as bad as Thor 2's November release date. 4.5/5 stars.

My reviews of the original film and the other Phase One movies:  http://mattcottermovies.blogspot.com/2012/05/avengers-movies.html
http://mattcottermovies.blogspot.com/2012/05/avengers-movies-part-ii.html
My review of "Iron Man 3": http://mattcottermovies.blogspot.com/2013/05/iron-man-3-is-it-possible-to-really.html
My review of "Thor- The Dark World": http://mattcottermovies.blogspot.com/2013/11/thor-dark-world-marvels-latest.html

(SPOILERS BELOW POSTER)
(Image: Wikipedia)




(SPOILER SEGMENT): About halfway through the film, Captain America discovers The Winter Soldier is his best friend Bucky Barnes, who, after having "died" during WWII, has been genetically enhanced, cryogenically frozen, and has had his memory wiped. He is now a stone-cold killer and an unstoppable force. For people like me, who've read the comics, this was not a surprise, but I figured I'd put it down here anyway in case people who haven't read into it want to see the film. Also, Cap and Black Widow discover Red Skull's right-hand man Arnim Zola had transported his consciousness into an old supercomputer before he died in 1972. He reveals he was recruited by the SSR after WWII to found S.H.I.E.L.D. Unfortunately for the heroes, he used this as an opportunity to regrow HYDRA (Red Skull's Nazi-supporting terrorist organization) and that's why most of the agency has been compromised. He developed a genius "algorithm" to detect people who could possibly be threats to S.H.I.E.L.D./HYDRA, and had the hypnotized Bucky/Winter Soldier dispose of them. It is implied he is responsible for the "accidental" deaths of many of Cap's old friends, including Howard Stark. This is closer to his comic book counterpart than in the previous film, as in the comics he is a disembodied head inside of a robotic body who controls other organisms using his knowledge of biology. Here he is a disembodied mind inside a computer who used his intellect to control an entire organization. He is accidentally destroyed in an explosion meant to kill Cap and Black Widow. Characters such as Senator Stern, Rumlow, Rollins, and Jasper Sitwell are revealed to be secret HYDRA operatives, and Sitwell is brutally taken out by Winter Soldier for revealing Zola and HYDRA's plans to the heroes. By the end, the villains are stopped, S.H.I.E.L.D. is shut down, Cap, Hill, Widow, and Wilson look for new occupations (Hill applies for a job at Stark Industries), the remaining HYDRA supporters (including Senator Stern) are arrested, and Nick Fury fakes his own death so he can live a peaceful life away from all this government conspiracy and espionage stuff. Cap and Black Widow have a moment, and Cap and Falcon vow to track down Bucky and save him from his horrible existence as the Winter Soldier. In a mid-credits sequence, we see an underground facility run by the villainous HYDRA leader Baron von Strucker (played by Thomas Kretschmann). He is talking with one of his associates, who is concerned about them being exposed as HYDRA operatives. Strucker tells him not to worry, as they have something valuable. They look on as scientists study the staff used by Loki in The Avengers. They also discuss the dangers of genetic experimentation, and discuss disposing of the bodies of failed test subjects. They also discuss what will happen to the "Twins", the two surviving test subjects: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olson, respectively). Strucker looks on with evil glee as they experience their strange new powers while locked in containment cells. (They are no longer Magneto's mutant children as in the comics, but rather the product of experimentation, as Fox has the rights to X-Men). The second end-credits sequences shows the confused and traumatized Bucky in casual clothes looking at pictures of him and Cap from the 1940's in the Smithsonian museum exhibit, and begins to realize the gravity of the situation he's in. The film then has a text that reads: "Steve Rogers will return in The Avengers: Age of Ultron". I personally feel the Bucky one should have gone first, because it feels lackluster after the Strucker one. But it was still really satisfying and leaves me super excited for Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers 2. (END OF SPOILERS)

Top 50 Movies of All Time: Volume 2

Since it's March, I figured I'd continue my monthly countdown of my favorite movies of all time. So here's the second volume. Again, here's the rules...

Criteria:
Personal opinions
No TV movies or mini-series
I can have two films tied, or an entire series or trilogy combined into one slot.

40. Ed Wood: One of Tim Burton's best, it follows the fascinating and oddball career of one of Hollywood's most eccentric and notorious filmmakers: Ed Wood, who is often labeled "The Worst Director of All Time". It chronicles the making of his three of his most infamous films: Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster, and (the "worst film ever made") Plan 9 from Outer Space. It's got a fantastic score inspired by cheap B-movies from the 50's (the films Wood was best known for) and a stellar cast, featuring Johnny Depp in one of his better performances, and Martin Landau, who is so good as Bela Lugosi, he almost becomes him. Landau was so good in the role he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. It was definitely well-deserved.

 

39. Blade Runner: Ridley Scott's visually stunning and dark adaptation of Philip K. Dick's cult sci-fi novel, Blade Runner was a commercial and critical flop when first released in 1982, but has since gained a strong fan following and has been hailed by audiences and critics as one of the best science fictions films of all time. A moody movie that paints a dark portrait of Los Angeles in the future, it's basically a classic noir film in a sci-fi setting. The shadows, smoke-filled rooms, and characters all scream classic detective movie. Harrison Ford is cast a bit against type, as a gruff, but ultimately compassionate gumshoe detective who would be right at home in a 1940's pulp magazine. Rutger Hauer also gives a creepy performance as the film's villain Roy Batty (a fitting name for such a crazy character), a renegade robot who has come looking for his creator. A terrifying force to be reckoned with, Batty is absolutely insane and will stop at nothing to accomplish his goals, and also delivers one of the more gruesome deaths in sci-fi cinema: gauging a dude's eyes out and crushing his head in. Everything about this movie is awesome, from the acting, to the thrilling action sequences, to the multiple controversial endings, to the complex storyline, to the synthesizer score, to the amazing visuals and special effects, there's no way to not like this movie even just a little bit.



38. Who Framed Roger Rabbit: A childhood favorite of mine, it's a parody of noir mystery films, involving cartoon characters. In a world where cartoons and humans live side by side, a detective who hates cartoons must prove the innocence of a famous and slightly crazy cartoon star named Roger Rabbit, who is framed for the murder of Marvin Acme, a prank shop mogul who was having an affair with Roger's femme fatale wife. It's more for the nostalgia than anything, but you can't deny it's a timeless and very entertaining movie. It's also one of the few times that animation and live-action blend perfectly. It's also the only time you'll probably ever see Donald Duck and Daffy Duck or Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny together on screen, and that's pretty awesome.




37. Interview with the Vampire and Bram Stoker's Dracula (tie): I couldn't decide between these two amazing vampire movies, so I gave them both their own slot. The former is the dark and somewhat erotic adaptation of Anne Rice's Lestat book series, well, the first book. It follows Brad Pitt, who becomes a vampire in the 1700s after he is bitten by the mysterious and somewhat malicious vampire Lestat, portrayed by Tom Cruise, who surprisingly really owns the role. The whole movie is really well-done, but it's also very tense and kind of fucked up. Pitt is the narrator of the film, as he is being interviewed by a reporter played by Christian Slater, and you can tell after all the horrific shit that's happened to him over the course of his life that he's a really jaded, bitter person, and the movie portrays the world as this evil, cruel place where no one is safe. It's really messed up and bleak, but I really like it, but maybe I'm just a morbid bastard. The latter is Francisc Ford Copolla's big budget, star-studded adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic novel. Although Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves aren't good in it, they are made up for by the amazing Gary Oldman and the fantastic Anthony Hopkins, who both own their roles as Dracula (in several forms) and Van Helsing, respectively. Oldman puts on an incredible Romanian accent, and has an impressive range, going from suave and seductive to terrifying and malevolent in seconds. Hopkins is a great Van Helsing, and also puts on a convincing German accent. The visuals and special effects of this movie are pretty inventive and are astounding for the time. I can't get enough of these movies, and I definitely recommend you give them a watch around Halloween, or any time really.

 

36. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: This one is more of a nostalgic thing for me. However, it is well-acted (especially from the supporting cast of adults, which includes Maggie Smith, Kenneth Branagh, Alan Rickman, Jason Isaacs, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Julie Walters, Richard Harris, Richard Griffiths, David Bradley, and Fiona Shaw) and has great special effects for 2002. This film is also a bit darker than the first film, and has more action. This is also actually the longest film in the series, which I was surprised by, because it moves at a brisk pace and feels shorter than it is. It's got a surprisingly good story and it's my personal favorite of the series.



35. Sin City: In Robert Rodriguez's incredibly detailed and visionary adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novels, we take a journey to Basin "Sin" City, a shadowy hellhole plagued by corruption, crime, and morally ambiguous characters. With an all-star cast, heavily stylized and ultra-violent action sequences, a surreal but intriguing universe, compelling characters, a unique musical score, and groundbreaking special effects, it's no wonder this one was a box office and critical success. I love this movie and the books it's based on for the noir-esque writing and narration, the incredible action scenes, and stunning visuals. I can't wait for the long-postponed sequel scheduled to come out in August.

 

34. Trainspotting: Danny Boyle's cult hit about junkies in Scotland is a fantastic movie that I only recently watched (summer 2013), but I loved it instantly. Ewan McGregor leads a stellar cast featuring Ewen Bremner, Jonny Lee Miller, Robert Carlyle, Kevin McKidd, Kelly Macdonald, and James Cosmo. A twisted and unique film, the first half is a dark comedy about heroin addicts and sociopaths, but the second half takes a hard left turn, and becomes a disturbingly harsh and real story of what happens when you lose yourself to addiction. With a bittersweet ending and a killer soundtrack (featuring great artists like Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, David Bowie, Joy Division, and Damon Albarn), it's almost impossible not to love this film. It's highly acclaimed and loved for a good reason: it's absolutely brilliant, funny, dramatic, and very real. 



33. The Blair Witch Project: I thought this was definitely the scariest and most influential horror film of the last 20 years, and I still think it's the best found footage movie of all time. It's got this amazingly detailed and eerie backstory which was further explored in spin-off documentaries and websites, and the film itself is so raw. It's a very disorienting and distressing film, that shows the deteriorating state of mind the characters go through as they get lost in the woods and begin encountering possibly supernatural forces. This film really exemplifies the horror film principle of "what you don't see is more horrifying than what you do see". From eerie moments like the explanation of what happened to a scouting party from Blair, Maryland when they got lost in the woods; to the heartbreaking and iconic scene where one of the main characters breaks down crying on camera in the middle of the night, confessing to the camera and apologizing to her family and friends and the peers of her fellow crew members that she has accepted they will die in those woods, almost every scene in this harrowing movie is perfectly executed, and it's one of my favorite horror films of all time.



32. Batman: Although it's not the best Batman film, it was the first major Batman film to be true to the tone of the comics. Even though it's typical Tim Burton (style over substance, creepy, etc.), it really worked for the time, and it broke box office records. Michael Keaton may not be a great Bruce Wayne, I personally feel he plays it a bit too awkward and eccentric, but he's a fantastic Batman. Just his voice and the way he does it is amazing. Jack Nicholson was the best choice to play the Joker at the time, despite the fact he really just plays a more demented version of himself. Kim Basinger is a bit irritating, but she does okay. The action scenes are a bit few and far between, and are a bit awkward at times (Keaton's rubber suit looks pretty constricting), but overall it's an entertaining and faithful superhero film that's moody, darkly comical at times, stylish, and fast-paced.



31. Airplane!: This classic parody film is a bit sophomoric at times, and does feel a bit dated at certain points, but I still think it's hilarious. It's absurdist spoof humor at it's best, and the filmmakers working on parody films today should take note (I'm taking to you, Seltzerberg). A laugh-out-loud look at disaster films that were very popular in the 70's (The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure, Earthquake, etc., but in particular the Airport series). This was also the film that completely changed Leslie Nielsen's career, he shifted from serious performances to deadpan spoof comedy, and proved he was actually really good at the latter. You really can't not like this movie, it kind of appeals to everyone. It's almost timeless in a way, and it shows how great spoof movies used to be. If more modern parody films were more like this, the world would be a better place for moviegoers.

(Images: Wikipedia)

Runner-ups: American Graffiti, Tombstone, Highlander, Half Baked, Scream, Tremors, Gremlins, Singin' in the Rain, Chicago, Watchmen, Saw, Insidious, Sinister.

True Detective: Season 1 (TV Review)

Since the first season of this brand new HBO program has just wrapped up, I figured I'd take a look at this show since it's been taking the television world by storm, and has been praised by critics and audiences alike.

True Detective, Season One:
In 2012, two detectives (Gilbough and Papania) interview two older detectives separately. These older detectives (Cohle and Hart) used to be pretty close, but have drifted apart since a falling out in 2002. In 1995 in Louisiana, these two detectives supposedly caught the two men responsible for several disturbing, ritualistic killings in the Vermilion Parish. The two interviewing detectives have discovered the killer has struck again, and want to know how the same killer could kill again is he/she was caught seventeen years earlier. The two older detectives must revisit their dark pasts and struggle with their inner demons to help these detectives solve a case that has haunted them for almost twenty years.
    Like many great HBO shows, even though all the aspects are excellent, it's all about the performances. Matthew McConaughey plays Rust Cohle. He's the more dedicated of the two detectives, and it shows in that he barely interacts with his wife, and we almost only ever see him at his job. Unfortunately, this leads him to being a bit obsessed, and kind of drives him away from his friends and family. He is in fact so invested in his job he will commit crimes to be able to solve the case and catch the killer. He is also the more moral of the detectives, despite being very cynical and jaded. Woody Harrelson portrays Martin Hart, Cohle's ex-partner and former best friend. He is still on the police force, unlike Cohle who has since retired. Even though he's the Catholic one and Cohle is militantly anti-religious, he's actually the one who constantly contradicts the teachings of his faith: he's an adulterer, sometimes lies, and is amoral in other aspects. He's the even more flawed character, and even though he also wants to solve the case, he's not as willing to go as far as Cohle does. However, a redeeming quality is that he does have a strong urge to protect the innocent, especially young children (as he has two daughters himself), and becomes blinded by rage when he discovers child abuse. Michelle Monaghan plays Hart's bitter wife Maggie. As of 2012, they are divorced, and she is extremely displeased with him and Cohle. As of the 1995 timeline, he and Martin's marriage is already falling to pieces, and they are barely clinging on. Tory Kittles and Michael Potts play Detectives Thomas Papania and Maynard Gilbough, respectively. They are dedicated to solving the case, but are initially very distrusting of the two older detectives, and they are right to do so. Cohle and Hart have a sketchy history, so I wouldn't be too keen to trust them either. Kevin Dunn, Alexandra Daddario, Tess Harper, Jay O. Sanders, and Glenn Fleshler appear in smaller supporting roles. Daddario is Hart's young mistress, and she's kind of a selfish bitch. Fleshler has a very unsettling role near the end of the season, and he does an amazing job. He's an unknown actor, but he needs more work like this. All the performances are mesmerizing, but it's the two leads who really deliver the goods. I've been a fan of Harrelson and McConaughey's for some time, and this show cements their status as modern masters of the acting craft.
     Besides the acting, the series also has excellent writing. Nic Pizzolatto (the show's creator) wrote the entire season, and he's an extraordinary writer for someone who seems relatively new to television (his only experience is writing two episodes of The Killing). He pens a very dark and realistic story, and Pizzolatto also creates an intriguing character study with the two main characters and (later on in the story) briefly gives insight into the demented mind of the killer.
    The series is also (like many HBO series) very cinematic, and has beautiful cinematography and impressive sets and makeup effects (despite the latter being the least utilized of the three). We can thank Cary Joji Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, Jane Eyre) for the cinematography. He serves as an executive producer, but also directed all the episodes of the series. Much like Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones, they found the perfect director for these episodes. He has a lot of talent, and this is perfectly exemplified in the fourth episode, where an entire 8-9 minute sequence is done in one continuous shot (or it's convincingly made to look like one). It's astoundingly brilliant.
    Another interesting decision was to go the route of Ryan Murphy's chilling American Horror Story, and have each season be a new story with new characters. I thought this was a great decision, as each season could focus on one mystery, and hold people's interest and build the tension, but not become like Twin Peaks (fantastic horror series, by the way) where it would lose many people's interests by stretching out the mystery too far and only last two short seasons. I also think although the decision to make it eight episodes long rather than the usual ten episodes was a bit odd, I do understand that if they added some extra padding to stretch it to ten episodes it would have felt too long and tedious in some episodes so I think eight is the perfect number, at least for this season.
       The series really gets under your skin and is genuinely horrifying in some sequences. It's an incredibly original mix of crime drama/police procedural, Southern Gothic, and surreal horror. In fact, the villains are straight out of a cult/serial killer thriller, and are disturbing, disgusting, and incredibly nasty, and are some of the most unsettling and mysterious TV serial killers I've seen.
     The show also has an absolutely fantastic soundtrack. T Bone Burnett composed the original music for the show, and it's hypnotic, creepy, and strange, a perfect fit for the tone. The "featured music" is also great, a good mix of Southern Gothic music, melancholy tunes, rock, and country. "Young Men Dead" by The Black Angels was definitely one of my favorite tracks. The opening theme, "Far From Any Road" by The Handsome Family, is a subtly eerie and moody song which fits the tone of the series: dark, bleak, and a bit depressing. I loved it, and the opening credits sequence is, like many HBO opening sequences, incredible and it shows off some of the characters and many different locations from the series, as well as showing images associated with the unique culture of Louisiana and the Southern U.S. in general.
    True Detective is a complex, powerful, poignant, and addictive crime/horror drama with deeply flawed and hypocritical, yet relatable and human characters. It has a twisted, tense, and creepy storyline, and some excellent writing, breathtaking cinematography, exceptional performances, and I can't wait to see what the creators do with season two, and I hope that McConaughey and Harrelson return as well. 5/5 stars.

Episode List:
One- "The Long, Bright Dark"
Two- "Seeing Things"
Three- "The Locked Room"
Four- "Who Goes There"
Five- "The Secret Fate of All Life"
Six- "Haunted Houses"
Seven- "After You've Gone"
Eight- "Form and Void" 

(Image: truedetective.wikia.com)

300 Movies: Faithful adaptations of Frank Miller's graphic novels

Today, I look at the stylish and fast-paced 300 films, based on the bestselling graphic novel.

300:
Based on the limited comic book series by acclaimed comic book writer Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, Daredevil: Born Again), which was inspired by the epic film The 300 Spartans, this film is a heavily stylized and fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermoplyae from the Persian Wars. King Leonidas I of Sparta in Greece decides to lead 300 Spartan warriors against a huge army of Persians when they invade Greece. Facing impossible odds, Leonidas won't back down and actually begins destroying most of the army. That makes the Persian leader King Xerxes extremely angry, and Leonidas may be in over his head, despite his many victories in battle.... Now, the graphic novel won several awards, but it was criticized by some, including beloved comic book writer Alan Moore, for being historically inaccurate. However, Miller himself has admitted historical accuracy was not his goal: it was just supposed to be a fictionalized story from the viewpoint of the Spartans, kind of like the myths and legends of that period, it was merely an extreme exaggeration of history. If you take a look at the book and the film based on that expectation, they're both extremely well done. Gerard Butler is fantastic as the extremely macho and physically strong Leonidas. He's a Spartan, so he holds physical strength and dominance above all other traits, which make him kind of unrelatable, but you also can't really help but root for him because the Persians are portrayed as ruthless conquerors. Lena Headey (Game of Thrones, Dredd, The Purge) has a supporting role as Gorgo, Leonidas' queen. She's really good in these strong female leader type roles, and this is no different. Except unlike Dredd or Game of Thrones, here she's not completely corrupt and manipulative. David Wenham portrays Dilios, a Spartan warrior who narrates the story. He has an awesome narrating voice, and he's arguably the most intelligent of the Spartans. Rodrigo Santoro has a supporting role as Xerxes, the "God-King" of Persia. An intimidating and androgynous figure, he is very mysterious and strange. He is a damn good villain, and is a lot more manipulative and powerful than Leonidas thinks. Dominic West (The Wire) portrays Theron, an entirely fictional character created for the film, who is a corrupt Spartan official who lusts for Gorgo. Andrew Tiernan has a small role as Ephialtes, a deformed and hunchbacked Spartan abandoned at birth who tries to join Leonidas' small army. Vincent Regan, Tom Wisdom, Andrew Pleavin, and Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class, Prometheus, 12 Years a Slave, Hunger, Shame) appear in supporting roles as loyal soldiers following Leonidas. Peter Mensah (Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Jason X) has a cameo as a Persian messenger. The cast are all really good for an action movie, and especially a comic book movie that is not Marvel or DC. Even though Marvel and DC definitely don't have a flawless record when it comes to filmography (take Howard the Duck, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Elektra, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Steel, Supergirl, Superman III, Superman IV, and Batman and Robin as good examples of fuck-ups), but it's usually comic book movies from other publishers that are the really bad ones. Movies like Judge Dredd, Tank Girl, Spawn, and Barbed Wire plagued 90's cinema. However, movies like Hellboy, Sin City, Dredd, and 300 have been turning that notion around. This film was a big deal as it was, like Sin City, so faithful it made sure almost every shot was exactly as the comic panel appeared in the book. The special effects were also revolutionary, and this was one of the first major movies to employ the "slow-down, then speed-up" technique used in many stylish action films. Although it's annoying now, at the time, it was really cool and unique. Even the end credits are great. It's a nice little animated sequence that recaps the events of the film. All of that is thanks to the visionary director. Zack Snyder may not be as good as Christopher Nolan or Joss Whedon, but he does know how to make an entertaining and visually stunning comic book movie. Although his disastrous film Sucker Punch almost ruined his reputation, and Man of Steel and Watchmen received lukewarm reception from both critics and fans (although I enjoyed the latter two), many forget he had a promising career start. Dawn of the Dead was hailed as one of the few horror remakes to be a worthy follow-up to the original film, and this film (300) was a box office success and received generally positive reviews from critics and audiences. This and Man of Steel are undoubtedly his best works. 300 may not be the best comic book adaptation, but it's entertaining as hell, as well as exhilarating and pretty epic for a movie that's not even two hours. Despite historical inaccuracy, it makes up for it with unique and eye-popping visuals, heavily stylized and innovative action sequences, some surprisingly good acting, a well-penned script, and buckets of blood. 4/5 stars.

300- Rise of an Empire:
In Athens, Greece, the citizens receive word of Persia's threat towards Sparta and Leonidas' plan to attack. An intelligent military leader named Themistocles suggests all of Greece unite against Persia, but many are not in favor, especially the aggressive and arrogant Spartans, who value their city-state over all others. Themistocles is able to get a pretty large naval fleet comprised of many smaller Greek fleets to battle against Xerxes and his manipulative naval commander Artemisia. Based on Xerxes, Frank Miller's work-in-progress which has yet to be released despite being worked on for years. Despite being a bit weaker than the original, this one still delivers. Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back, Animal Kingdom) plays Themistocles. He is a great warrior and tactician, but he is more relatable than Leonidas because, as an Athenian, he values strength and might, but even more so values intelligence and human life. He and his friends also aren't as brutal or cold as the Spartans could be. Eva Green plays Artemisia, the main antagonist. She's good in the role, and gets to play a ruthless, violent, and psychotic bitch who kills anyone in her way of victory. She plays these femme fatale roles really well, as most of her major roles (Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, the witch in Dark Shadows) are similar to this. Rodrigo Santoro, David Wenham, Lena Headey, Andrew Pleavin, and Andrew Tiernan return from the first film in their respective roles as Xerxes, Dilios, Queen Gorgo, Daxos, and Ephialtes the Hunchback. Santoro still has a prominent role, but everyone else's are heavily downplayed, because the Spartans are no longer the focus, and also probably because Headey was busy with Game of Thrones, although she does serve as the film's narrator, similar to Wenham's narration of the previous movie. Peter Mensah again appears, this time not only as the Persian messenger, but also as Artemisia's trainer. Ben Turner has a supporting role as General Artaphernes of Athens. Gerard Butler and Michael Fassbender appear in flashback scenes, which are basically recycled footage from the original film. The cast are, again, surprisingly really good for an action movie and it was cool to see more about Xerxes' past and to see more relatable heroes and a villainess you can hate, but also empathize with. I also thought it was a cool decision to shift the location from the land to the sea and get to see some naval combat. This story is actually not really a prequel or a sequel to 300. The first 20 minutes take place before the first film, and the last 20 minutes take place a little bit after, but a good chunk of the main plot takes place concurrently with the original, so it's like a prequel/midquel/sequel. This was an interesting choice, and it definitely works. Some stuff I was happy to see was the return of the awesome end credits animation sequence, and also the return of those "Immortals", the creepy reptilian/goblin Persians with the samurai-like masks, even though this time they don't show their deformed faces. I was also really pleased with the amazing action sequences, despite being a bit too heavy on CGI, especially when it came to the fake-looking computer-animated blood. I understand it was part of the visual style, but at least make it look a little better. By the way, just a warning to sensitive readers: it is extremely bloody (even if it does look fake), so people who aren't gore fans should probably stay away. 300: Rise of an Empire is a worthy follow-up, and it's a visually appealing and fun popcorn movie which will satisfy fans of the original. 3.5/5 stars.

 (Images: Wikipedia)

Double Review: The Monuments Men and Non-Stop

Today, I look at two films from last month: George Clooney's historical drama The Monuments Men and the Liam Neeson action-thriller vehicle Non-Stop.

The Monuments Men:
During World War II, Hitler hatched a plot to steal some of the world's most valuable artwork and store it in a planned Fuhrer Museum. The U.S. dispatched a team of men nicknamed "The Monuments Men", a group of inexperienced, middle-aged and elderly men: architects, painters, historians, sculptors, etc. They must brave the horrors and dangers of WWII in order to retrieve the artwork, which is stored in bunkers and underground storage units all over Europe, not because they're paintings, but they represent our culture and everything that the Allies were fighting for at the time: freedom for the people in Europe who were living under fascist dictators, a freedom the Axis Powers sought to destroy and replace with totalitarianism. Now, this movie is a bit disappointed if you were looking for something on the scale of Saving Private Ryan, Empire of the Sun, Schindler's List, or Band of Brothers (funny, all of those are Steven Spielberg projects). However, it was pretty entertaining. George Clooney directs and stars. I've been pretty satisfied with Clooney's other directorial projects, particularly the excellent Good Night and Good Luck and the provocative The Ides of March. This film doesn't quite measure up to those movies in quality or effectiveness, but that doesn't mean it wasn't good. The film has a solid cast, featuring not only Clooney, but Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Cate Blanchett, and Hugh Bonneville. It also has lesser-known actors like Sam Hazeldine and Dimitri Leonidas is supporting roles. The cast are really great, and have excellent chemistry. The "Monuments Men" actually split up into separate little duos, which all worked perfectly: Bill Murray and Bob Balaban, John Goodman and Jean Dujardin, George Clooney and Hugh Bonneville (with Dimitri Leonidas tagging along as well), and Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett. They all have great chemistry, and I think having each little duo go on their own mission and then regroup later on helped the film not get cluttered with too many characters on screen at one time. The music by Alexandre Desplat may be a bit bland, but it perfectly fits the overall tone of the movie. Speaking of which, it was a surprisingly lighthearted movie with little bloodshed, despite it taking place during WWII. There were darker moments, too, but overall it was a lot more comedic than I expected. I actually enjoyed most of the humor, but it just felt a little... well, strange and out-of-place for a movie taking place during a violent and destructive war. However, it didn't ruin the movie experience at all. Just a little more with the negative here before the positive: you can predict some character deaths a scene or so before they happen, which is never good because then you as an audience member are not surprised and shocked by a tragic death, you're just sort of disinterested or disappointed. The film, being about two hours long, can feel a bit slow at some parts, and then too fast-paced in others, they never found the right balance. Plus, if you're fans of longer war films like Patton, The Great Escape, Lawrence of Arabia, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now, etc., this may feel far too short for an epic WWII tale. Another thing that always bothers me about most movies set during WWII, and this movie is no exception: whenever they show Adolf Hitler, it's very brief and he never speaks on screen. Why is that? Do they think they can't capture the character right? Because Inglorious Basterds and Downfall had him speak (hell, in Downfall he's the main character), and they did a fine job. Now for the more positive stuff: the movie had some pretty cool action scenes, albeit very brief ones, including a cool little shoot-out scene in an abandoned town between Goodman and Dujardin and a German sniper. The film also had great shooting locations, and it was pretty historically accurate. It kind of makes me want to the read the book the film is based on to fact-check it. The cinematography was impressive, and Clooney in my opinion is kind of like Ben Affleck in that they're decent actors, but excellent directors, in fact, they should do way more directing. The Monuments Men is an interesting historical dramady which has a great cast, some surprisingly good writing, a decent enough score, cool cinematography, fantastic shooting locations, and a talented director to bring it all together. It may not be the most poignant or emotionally stirring thing Clooney's done thus far, but it's pretty damn good for what it is. 3/5 stars


Non-Stop:
Alcoholic air marshal Bill Marks boards a flight to London. He gets on board disguised as an average passenger, and only the flight crew know his true identity. He begins receiving text messages from a passenger aboard the plane. The mystery messenger begins claiming he will kill a random passenger every 20 minutes unless he is paid $150 million via a transfer to an account. Marks realizes he's not playing around when he reveals he knows all about Marks' past and current life. Marks must now stop the mysterious murderer from killing innocent passengers and sabotaging the entire flight, but that may be a far more difficult task than he was expecting. I was surprised by how entertaining this movie actually was. I thought that it was going to be an extremely dumb, extremely boring action vehicle like some of Liam Neeson's other recent projects, but it was pretty good. Neeson basically plays the same guy as in every movie, in fact, for the rest of this review, I won't refer to him by his character name, just as Liam Neeson. He's just this bad-ass, jaded, gruff older guy who just fucks up anyone who gets in his way. I'm convinced that's just how Liam Neeson is in real-life, just this older guy who happens to be extremely good at fighting, shooting, and hunting down and killing bad guys. Besides Neeson, the film actually has a pretty good cast: Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Nate Parker, Linus Roache (Law & Order: SVU, Batman Begins), Scoot McNairy (Killing Them Softly, Monsters, Promised Land, 12 Years a Slave), Lupita N'yongo (the recent Oscar winner from 12 Years a Slave), Corey Stoll (Midnight in Paris, House of Cards), Anson Mount (Hell on Wheels, Tully), Omar Metwally, and model Bar Paly. Even though it's just a popcorn movie, I can't help but criticize some elements: at certain points in the film, it seems like Liam Neeson's being a dick just to be a dick. His aggressiveness and bluntness in certain scenes is unnecessary. The film's villain also has an unclear motive. I'm not saying all villains need a motive, in fact, in some films it's scarier when they don't (The Dark Knight, The Devil's Rejects, A Clockwork Orange, American Psycho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), but when your villain clearly has a motive of some kind, but it's not really explained exactly what it is, it's not very satisfying. The villain's plan also heavily relies on things just sort of working themselves out. There's no way the plan would have worked unless he was psychic and could predict exactly what Liam Neeson would do at what time. Also, the whole climax was cool, but it wasn't very realistic or believable by any stretch or the imagination. But it's a movie, so there's always going to be flaws. The positives are that the cast are actually really good for a dumb fun action movie, especially Neeson and Moore, who have great chemistry. The film also does a good job of keeping you guessing until the very end as to who is the killer. The film is also pretty intense in certain areas, and even a bit touching (especially in one scene where Neeson gives this speech about his tragic and dark past to the entire plane). Non-Stop is a good movie to watch with a group of friends. It's fun, explosive, and exciting, and although it's not nearly as good as Taken, or even Darkman and The Grey, it's also not nearly as bad as Unknown or Taken 2. 3.5/5 stars

 

Top 10 WTF Moments of 2013 (and early 2014): One final countdown list before we get too far into the year....

The last top (insert number here) list of 2013 I'll do, sorry for the huge delay. I go over some of the most shocking and crazy moments in pop culture, particularly in movies, TV, and video games.

Criteria:
Unpredictable and surprising
Stuff from January-March 2014 can count

By the way, SPOILER ALERT!

10. The Last of Us ending

The Moment: In the closing sequence in this emotionally grueling and epic video game, our antihero Joel must save his companion and sort of foster daughter Ellie from death by a group of radical, paramilitary survivalist called "Fireflies". The thing is... Joel is technically the bad guy here. Even though I was glad he saved Ellie at the end of the day, he dooms mankind because it's revealed early on the reason the Fireflies needed Ellie is that she is a miracle: someone immune to the zombie/fungi virus that has collapsed society in the last 20 years, and that they may extract a cure from her. The only thing: she could die during the extraction procedure... and Joel, who has grown protective of her, won't have it. In the end, he kills all Fireflies and rescues Ellie, only to lie to her and tell her they've given up on the cure and that it was probably not going to work anyway. When she makes him promise to be honest, and asks if he was telling her the truth, he responds "Yeah." She says "Okay." and the game ends, leaving it open for a sequel.

The Reaction: This ending was controversial, and for obvious reasons: it's kind of a dark and selfish move for Joel to make, and it's sort of a sudden ending for such an amazing game. However, it also perfectly fits the tone of the story, and it also will become a major plot point in the sequel that will probably happen in the next few years, which I'll definitely buy.

 (Image: Wikipedia)


9. Sherlock Series Three Finale (A Villain's Surprise Return)

The Moment: At the end of the satisfying conclusion to yet another great season of BBC's detective series Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes has parted ways with John Watson and his buddies for the mean-time to head to a foreign country as punishment for murdering the season's villain: Charles Augustus Magnussen. As soon as his jet departs, you hear the theme song start up, only to immediately cut to a London pub, where a soccer game is interrupting by something. We don't see what the interference is yet, but everyone in the pub appears shocked and confused. In fact, Sherlock is immediately called back by his older brother Mycroft before he even leaves London airspace, who reveals he has evaded punishment yet again, as he is needed for something urgent. We now see that every frequency in London has been hacked, and every screen in the city shows the same video clip on a loop: Jim Moriarty (Sherlock's psychotic nemesis, who committed suicide in the series two finale) staring into the camera saying "Did you miss me?"

The Reaction: I'm not quite sure how may others were as shocked as I am, but I must say it took me completely by surprise. I'm now extremely excited to see Moriarty make a return in the fourth series, which is slated to come out within the next year. At least I hope so, so I don't have to wait two years.
 (Image: Wikipedia)


8. Family Guy kills Brian, then resurrects him

The Moment: In the controversial episode "Life of Brian", the lovable pet dog is run over by a car and tragically dies in the hospital, giving a loving speech to his owners/family before passing away. When fan backlash, threats of boycotting, and threatening messages towards show staff became too much, the episode "Christmas Guy" had Stewie travel back through time to prevent his death. Seth MacFarlane, the show's creator and voice of many main characters (including Brian), thanked fans for showing so much compassion for their beloved character.

The Reaction: The moment spawned obvious fan backlash and criticism of the show, and the staff ultimately brought him back. Although Brian's death was a bad decision (even though it was well-executed), an even worse decision was not only to replace him with a different dog, but then completely destroy the emotional impact of Brian's death by just easily resurrecting him. I feel like it was a cheap cop-out, although I understand why they did it. But I think they could have waited at least a few more episodes before bringing him back. But that's just my opinion.

 (Image: Wikipedia)

7. Bad casting decisions for Man of Steel 2/Batman vs. Superman

The Moments and Reactions: After Ben Affleck was cast as Bruce Wayne/Batman back in early September, fans and casual viewers alike (myself included) expressed hatred for the idea that "Batfleck" would be appearing in cinemas in 2015 (now 2016). But he grew on us, just a little bit, over time. Maybe he won't be so bad. Then, Gal Gadot, the beautiful model/actress from Fast & Furious, was cast as Wonder Woman. Now Gadot may be gorgeous, but she's... just not right for the part. She's not, I guess, bulky enough. I'm not saying Wonder Woman should be a body-builder, but many people suggested Gina Carano (a model/actress/martial artist who also appeared in the Fast & Furious franchise) would be good because she's good-looking and physically strong. However, Gadot stated she was working out for the role, so people's hatred died down. Then Jesse Eisenberg was cast as Lex Luthor.... what the fuck?! He's just so wrong for the part, it's insane! Nothing about his looks, personality, or filmography suggest he can pull off Lex. Maybe Bryan Cranston. I mean, when I heard he was rumored as being Lex Luthor, I was kind of upset, even though I love him on Breaking Bad, he doesn't seem right for the part. But he would be thousands of times better than Eisenberg! It's not that I dislike Eisenberg (although I thought he was really irritating in Now You See Me), but he's just bad for the role, and apparently, from what I've seen, many people agree with me.

 (Image: schmoesknow.com)


6. The Walking Dead Season Four Mid-Season Finale

The Moment: In the jaw-dropping and exhilarating mid-season finale of this season of the excellent zombie apocalypse show, The Governor (the show's psychotic and extremely amoral, violent, and charismatic villain for the past season, played by David Morrisey) confronts Rick (played by Andrew Lincoln) and his group, having taken Hershel (Scott Wilson), one of the more likeable characters, and the bad-ass Michonne (Danai Gurira) as his hostages. Now commanding a group of military families, who are armed with assault rifles and a tank, whom he has manipulated by killing their older leaders without their knowledge and convincing them Rick's group are evil raiders and killers, he threatens Rick's group to let them have the prison or die. Rick tries to reason with him, but The Governor ends up just killing Hershel with Michonne's samurai sword, and all hell breaks loose. The tank destroys entire cell blocks of the penitentiary, the group barely escapes with their lives and limbs and they're scattered all over the place, the prison is overrun with zombies (or "walkers", which I always thought was a dumb nickname), The Governor's group mostly all die (except a few who run off never to be seen again), and there are even closer calls: The Governor and Rick get into an all-out fist-fight, which results in Rick being beaten to near death, before Michonne stabs The Governor through the chest with her sword, and then the Governor's current girlfriend shoots him in the head as he bleeds out, effectively killing the bastard; Daryl and Tyreese barely hold their own against the endless onslaught of zombies and the Governor's ex-military killers, and narrowly escape; and the ending makes it appear as though Rick's baby Judith has been ripped apart by zombies.

The Reaction: I myself was on the edge of my seat for this entire climax, and I was pretty upset that Hershel was murdered. Many other fans were also deeply frustrated with his death, and the group getting scattered, although the brutal death of The Governor made up for it. I was extremely satisfied with the mid-season finale, as were many others, even though it was extremely shocking and absolutely insane.

 (Image: Wikipedia)


5. Indiana Jones sold to Disney

The Moment: Finally, all of LucasFilm's major properties have been sold to Walt Disney Studios. After Star Wars and other LucasFilm properties were sold to Disney in late 2012, I was very upset. Although Disney had potential to make good decision with the franchise, they squandered any hope by having C3-PO and R2-D2 make a "funny" cameo on a Disney channel sitcom, and shutting down LucasArts, thus ending the Star Wars 13-13 project, which looked incredible. This year, Disney acquired the rights to the Indy franchise.

The Reaction: I'm not sure how other people reacted to this, but I can say from my perspective that I dread what the studio has planned with Indy after what they've done with Star Wars. Hopefully, it won't be so bad...hopefully.
 (Image: Wikipedia)


4. Breaking Bad's finale and ending sequence

The Moment: In the pulse-pounding, endearing, and extremely satisfying conclusion to Vince Gilligan's cultural phenomenon/crime drama, titled "Felina", Walter White masterminds one final crime: to get revenge on those who have hurt him and the ones he loves. After the murder of his DEA brother-in-law Hank by the white supremacist mercenary Jack and his psychotic nephew Todd, who were teamed with White's corrupt former business partner Lydia, Walter not only poisons Lydia with ricin and leaves her to slowly die, but also uses a makeshift contraption containing a high-powered assault rifle in the trunk of his car, to kill Todd and Jack's entire gang, then he personally shoots the wounded Jack in the head, and Jesse (Walt's protégé who was held captive by the gang for months, and was tortured until he cooked meth for them) strangles Todd to death. Jesse then parts ways with Walter for good, and Walt succumbs to a bullet wound he suffered during the massacre, thus ending his life and legacy as the drug lord Heisenberg, and tying up all the loose ends in his life.

The Reaction: This epic conclusion exploded all over the Internet, many (myself included) raving about how great it was, one of the few television finales that lives up to the hype. I really enjoyed this finale, even though I wanted to see more of Walter interacting with Jesse and Walt Jr., but ultimately I couldn't get enough of this final episode, and neither could anyone else. However, it was shocking due to the somewhat over-the-top nature of it all and the fact that it was unexpectedly awesome.

 (Image: breakingbad.wikia.com)

 3. Iron Man 3 pisses off a fanbase

The Moment: Everything up until the mid-point of the film was great. Then it was revealed Ben Kingsley's awesome and threatening Mandarin was merely an actor/decoy, and became a laughable, oafish comic relief character. Guy Pearce's Aldrich Killian turns out to be the real Mandarin as he created the persona as a cover for his Extremis project.

The Reaction: Even though the explanation for the twist makes sense, it kind of diminishes the coolness of The Mandarin, as in the comics he is the ultimate bad guy, and Kingsley captured the essence of the Mandarin character perfectly for those first 50-60 minutes. Many fans were pissed and for excellent reasons: it's absolute bullshit and it really cheats the audience. Still a good movie, but that move, for a lot of people, was unforgiveable.

 (Images: Wikipedia)

2. Star Trek-Into Darkness has a surprise villain

The Moment: In the half-way point of J.J. Abrams' cool science fiction film, the mysterious and highly skilled rogue Starfleet agent John Harrison, is actually revealed to be the 300-year-old super solider Khan Noonien Singh, the arch-villain from the classic television and film series. Shit suddenly got serious.

The Reaction: Quite a few people, including myself, were taken aback by this. Sure, fan-boys had debated over whether or not Harrison was Khan on the Internet for months, but I dismissed it as one of those dumb rumors that floats around. The fan-boys rejoiced when they discovered Harrison's true identity, and gloriously proclaimed that they were right all along. I was shocked, but also really excited when it was revealed that Khan was the film's villain. It was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, the description of the plot on the back of the DVD gives away Khan's identity immediately, so for those who got it spoiled by the fucking DVD cover, I apologize.

 (Image: villains.wikia.com)

Honorable mentions:

Deborah Morgan's death on Dexter (and the disappointing finale)

Matthew's death on Downton Abbey

Miley Cyrus at the VMAs (not a move, TV, or video game moment, but still worth a mention)
Ylvis' comedic viral video "The Fox" (or "What Does The Fox Say?", again, more of an Internet phenomenon, but definitely memorable)

1. The Red Wedding on Game of Thrones

The Moment: In the ninth episode of season three ("The Rains of Castamere"), the entirety of House Stark's army, including their heroic leaders Robb Stark and his mother Catelyn, as well as Robb's pet direwolf and his pregnant wife Talisa, are savagely slaughtered at a wedding. It's such a traumatizing, graphic, and horrific scene, especially since it's very unlikely that House Stark (now in exile) will ever get revenge on the parties responsible: the treacherous Houses Frey and Bolton, and the villainous House Lannister.

The Reaction: Die-hard fans and casual viewers alike were shocked and mortified at the absolute bleakness and horror of this single event. It's such a tragic and abrupt end to a great storyline, and the fact that some of the most best characters of the series die in such brutal ways is the icing on this cake. There are compilations on YouTube of people's varied reactions to this episode, often resulting in screaming, expletives, gasping, and crying. Yeah, it's that bad.

 (Image: thedailybeast.com)